Creative Thaumaturgy

I copied a portion of them over to http://mage.wikispaces.com awhile back...  I hadn't been keeping up with it though.

Darck Child:

Didn't anyone save the old one?

It's nice to have this thread back.

Yes, it is being hosted on a site, but as someone mentioned, the person with the link hasn't showed up yet.

Spells from pages up to ~37 or so are saved in the link in my sig. I was too lazy to update it afterwards however.

JollyGiant:

I disagree, especially with the Time 5 version of the spell, and the vulgar nature of it, the mana seems quite necessary, at least in my eyes. I can't really think of anything wrong with them, they seem pretty well balanced to me.

Mana cost should be for drastic things, like aggravated damage. Even the vulgar one isn't like that. I've noticed mana inflation on a lot of spells in the old thread.

Tau neutrino:

Mana cost should be for drastic things, like aggravated damage.

The Creative Thaumaturgy section in the Mage Core suggests that a Mana cost be added for anything the ST doesn't want the character to be able to cast over and over indefinitely.  This would be the case here.  Also, being able to act twice in a turn is drastic in NWOD terms.

Tau neutrino:

Mana cost should be for drastic things, like aggravated damage. Even the vulgar one isn't like that. I've noticed mana inflation on a lot of spells in the old thread.

Being able to warp time in such a way that actions become practically instantaneous isn't drastic?  Looking through the Core book, there are plenty of spells less powerful than this that have mana costs, so the way Ophidimancer's spells are set up seems perfectly sound.

Ophid, I like Swift As Thought, but the Duration confuses me.  It adds an additional Reflexive Action to the round, after it's cast, yes?

If that's the case, you're basically casting a Spell which allows you to take a Physical Action.  Why cast the spell at all?  Other than giving a giving one Physical Action the Reflexive Quality... which seems rather blase for a Mastery Spell.

Unless the Spell is Prolonged, or affects a number of Rounds equal to successes... but then the Spell Casting limitation is lifted.  --Which isn't a BAD thing--  I'd love to see the effects this would have on double LoE attacks.

Unless I'm *totally* misreading your intent  :)

Notice that the spell itself is Reflexive and it allows you to make an Instant Action (move your Speed and make an attack, for example) as a Reflexive Action, which means you can do it in addition to your normal Instant Action as well as anywhere on the Initiative roster.

It's basically one point of Masquerade's Celerity, which I think is pretty decent for a Master level spell, considering the only other place you get multiple actions is high levels of Fighting Styles.

The limitation is that no Time spell will let you cast more than one spell per turn, including Swift As Thought so if Swift As Though has been used to grant an action, that action cannot be a spell.

Actually it's been brought to my attention that Prescient Alacrity basically trumps all Initiative, allowing the mage to go first no matter what.  I designed the spell to turn normal actions into something like Dodge actions.  You get to take your action as early as you want, but it still counts as your one action and you don't get any more.  Does this seem too powerful for Time 4?

Ophidimancer:

Actually it's been brought to my attention that Prescient Alacrity basically trumps all Initiative, allowing the mage to go first no matter what.  I designed the spell to turn normal actions into something like Dodge actions.  You get to take your action as early as you want, but it still counts as your one action and you don't get any more.  Does this seem too powerful for Time 4?

I don't think the effect is too powerful for Time 4, compared to other spells at that level, but the mechanics may be a bit wonky.

So, what happens if two mages in the same encounter have the spell active and try to trump each other?

Compare their normal mundane Initiatives, I suppose.

Here's a little spell-set for the gardener in all of us.

Watching Grass Grow (Life •)
Need to fill that nasty bare patch of lawn? Is your vegetable garden not growing quickly enough? Does that oak Or do you simply need to ensure that hastily dug-, occupied- and filled-grave looks weeks old in a matter of days? Forget Miracle-Gro...this is the spell to use!
Practice: Compelling
Action: Extended, special(Each roll takes 15 minutes)
Duration: Prolonged, this spell uses the advanced prolongation table
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None
This spell targets a 1-yard radius per success when targeting smaller plants, such as grass, or clustered plants as would be found in a garden(floral and otherwise), or 1 plant per success when dealing with trees and shrubs.
This spell increases the rate of growth based on the Potency of the spell, which is to say that the mage must allocate successes.
The rate of growth increases as follows:
Potency 1    -    2x base
Potency 2    -    4x base
Potency 3    -    6x base
Potency 4    -    8x base
Potency 5    -    10x base
Potency for this spell has a cap of 5. The storyteller determines the base rate of growth.
While covert, this spell can be subject to the Unraveling effects of Disbelief if the rate of growth exceeds Potency 3.
Free Council Rote: The Grass Is Greener...In My Yard
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Crafts + Life
Some Free Council mages enjoy gardening as a past-time, and can be very...competitive. Some Silver Ladder mages with a similar hobby use a variation on the rote (Presence + Crafts + Life) to inspire their fauna's accelerated growth. In either case, the mudra is the act of gardening.

Green Pastures (Life ••)
Apprentices of Life have a bit more of an advantage than mere Initiates when it comes to gardening, but the risk is also greater.
Practice: Ruling
Action: Extended
Duration: Lasting
Aspect: Vulgar
Cost: None or 1 Mana, see text
This spell targets a 1-yard radius per success when targeting smaller plants, such as grass, or clustered plants as would be found in a garden(floral and otherwise), or 1 plant per success when dealing with fauna such as trees or shrubs.
This spell forces a plant to grow rapidly, potentially causing even a mere seed to sprout and grow to maturity in a matter of moments. Successes allocated to Potency to grow the plant based on its base Size, up to its natural maximum growth. This is largely a Storytelling matter, though general mechanics are as follows:
Grass seed to maturity - Potency 1 or 2
Tree seeds - Grows by an amount equal to Potency
Fruit tree seeds - as normal tree seeds, but a separate casting is required to make it bear fruit
Flowers - Potency 1 to sprout, 2 to mature, 3 to bloom, 4 to go into its "seed-spreading phase"
Bushes - Potency 1 to sprout, 3 to mature (If a flowering bush, 4 to bloom, 5 to begin spreading)
Food-growing plants - Potency 1 to sprout, 3 to mature, a separate casting requiring a Potency of 5 is needed to make these bear food
These are general guidelines and the ST is free to decide that in particularly lush environments a lower Potency is required, while in particularly arid or lifeless environments a higher Potency is required.
Plants grown with this spell cannot be targeted for a month, as it is an effort that strains the plant's body and resources, and it spends this time consuming nutrients and water. Providing fertilizer and generous amounts of water to the cuts the resting time down to 2 weeks. Expending 1 Mana during the casting eases the strain, and the plant or plants may be targeted again immediately.
With Life •••• the mage can cause plants to grow much larger than they are naturally able to, and in some cases (most notably when dealing with a botanist or the like) may invoke the Unravelling effects of Disbelief. Sleepers that don't possess such a background likely won't Disbelieve the plants when presented with an explanation ("Oh, I just tried some fertilizer I made myself," "It's a species that's had its genes spliced with another kind of plant.")
Free Council Rote: Green Thumb
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Crafts + Life
A Free Council mage who wants a lush front yard or a vegetable garden but doesn't want to spend time cultivating the plants with love and care usually casts this spell to hurry the process. Some Silver Ladder mages feel the need to block off a back-country road that may or may not lead to a location within which may or may not reside their abodes.

Comments?

For shapeshifting (not sure about how balanced these are; they're variants on a theme and I'm trying to choose which, if any, are permissible):

Shield against shapeshifting (Life •••)
Practice: Shielding
Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged
Cost: None (or 1 mana)
Roll: Gnosis+Life vs. Stamina + (Gnosis) on an unwilling target.
When any external power attempts to force the target's body to be altered, add the Potency of this spell (up to the caster's dots in the Life arcanum) to the appropriate resistance attribute.
As with other shielding spells, this shield can be made to last all day with the expenditure of 1 mana.

Mysterium rote: Ward of Flesh
Stamina + Medicine + Life
Some guardians like to deal with would-be intruders in especially unpleasant ways; this rote is sometimes cast to counteract this.

Sluggish flesh (Life ••••)
Practice: Ruling
Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged
Cost: none
Roll: Gnosis+Life vs. Stamina+(Gnosis).
Whenever the target of this spell attempts to change their shape through supernal magic, they must subtract the potency of this spell from their spellcasting roll.

Adamantine Arrow rote: Charm against werewolves
Although this is somewhat of a misnomer, as it is ineffective against werewolves (and indeed the magic of other beings), the AA find this to be a useful protection against aggressive life mages.

Reversion (Life ••••)
As Dispel Magic, but only effective on supernal shape shifting powers.

Guardians of the Veil rote: Imposter revealed
Wits+Medicine+Life
Guardians of the Veil find this to be a useful spell to defend against deception when Prime just isn't available.

Sight of Mortal Form (Life ••)
Practice: Knowing
Action: Instant
Duration: Transitory
Cost: none
Roll: Gnosis+Life vs. Resolve+(Gnosis).
The mage instantly gains the knowledge of how the target looks in human form; naturally, this will only work on beings such as werewolves, Promethean pariahs or shapechanged Life mages and has no effect on something which does not naturally take a human form. If they are concealed by any unnatural effect designed to deceive, such as Two Faces (Life arcanum) or Colour of Man (Deception transmutation), potency must equal or exceed successes rolled on the activation roll. This does not see past natural disguises.

Guardian rote: True sight of man-shape
Wits+Medicine+Life
A useful spell for any Guardian of the Veil to have, this spell is a boon to spies trying to work out exactly who they're following.

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What do you think? Balanced? Unbalanced? Why?

Also, do you think Life and Mind could create a rebus (as described in the Promethean line), or would that be Imperial? I tend towards it being an Imperial thing, but still interesting to consider...

This won't work against the Uratha nor would it probably work against Changing Breeds.  According to Tome of the Mysteries the ability of an Uratha to shift is beyond the ability of Supernal Magic to affect or manipulate.  I assume this would apply to Changing Breeds as well since they are considered a Major Template.

A mage can use Life to shift a werewolf into wolf form, but it will be a form imposed on them by magic, not one of their natural five forms.

Minor Template shapeshifters, on the other hand, are fair game.

Really? Bah, so it is. Perhaps it could still work against Mother Moon gifts though? And they're quite useful spells regardless.
Also, thinking of a neat Mind enchantment I nicked out of Skullduggery Pleasant, either 3 or 4 dots (probably 3):

Thief's foil (Mind •••)
As Shroud of Disinterest, only it is only active when an attempt is made to approach or affect the item in question.

Mysterium rote: Hidden in plain sight
Manipulation+Subterfuge+Mind
The Mysterium use this enchantment to showcase items while preventing them from theft.

Err . . actually there's already a published spell called exactly that in Tome of the Mysteries and it basically does the same thing.

*wince*  Sorry!  I'm not really a know-it-all jerk, really!

Check out this website for a list of the published spells: http://wodindex.wikispaces.com/spells